Rick & Ginger Hagen

Hi, my name is Ginger and I am writing this because I know that a lot of our friends have not been made aware of our situation due to Rick being a very private person and not wanting to be center of attention.

About 16 months ago, Rick had to have an emergency surgery that resulted in the removal of his appendix. During this time they found that he had an enlarged spleen as well as abnormal bloodwork results. It was at this time that he was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis (a bone marrow cancer). The doctors started Rick on medication to shrink his spleen, while making plans for a bone marrow transplant to be had in the following months. He was very sick during this time and we started our very long journey of driving back and forth to Siedman Cancer Center in Cleveland, OH several times a week (three hours roundtrip from our home) for doctors appointments, bloodwork, and to find a suitable donor for when his body was finally ready.

In February of 2023, Rick was admitted to Siedman Cancer Center for hospitalization in order to start his stem-cell transplant process. We were told to expect a four week stay from start to finish, but unfortunately on March 1st, 2023, following the transplant, Rick developed a viral infection that left him unresponsive to anyone and bed ridden for two and a half weeks. I thought we had lost him. When the medication had finally taken effect and Rick had awoken, he was very confused and unable to walk due to being immobile for such an extended period of time.

After a few weeks, Rick was transferred to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. He had to learn to walk again and mobilize himself in order for myself to be able to transport him to and from Cleveland for his continued treatments that are necessary for after care.

During the time that Rick was hospitalized I had to stay at The Hope Lodge (a safe haven for caregivers and cancer patients in affiliation with the Siedman Cancer Center). I spent two months living there away from our home and everything we know, so that I could be at Rick's side everyday through this immense ordeal.

In May, Rick was rushed from his skilled nursing facility back to Siedman in an ambulance and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He was hospitalized for two weeks and was bound to his wheelchair; therefore he was transferred back to a skilled nursing facility for a second time due to losing all that he had worked so hard to regain.

In June 2023, Rick was again rushed to Siedman Center due to an infection that surrounded his chest port that allowed the doctor's access for treatments and bloodwork. After getting a new port put in on the other side of his chest and spending a few more weeks in the hospital, he was then released for a third time to a skilled nursing facility. It was very disheartening to us because it seemed like very time Rick would make progress in therapy, something else would occur causing him to regress.

During this long journey, we had half of our roof torn off due to storms and water damage in our home. Our well pipe burst and left us with no water, flooding our basement in the meantime for over a week. Then, our pressure tank to the well had stopped working. Even though I had to be with my husband during this tough time, nothing around us stopped. Everything outside of the hospital and skilled nursing facility kept evolving whether we were mentally, physically or monetarily prepared.

During this time with Rick, and life continuing to move forward, when the well pipe burst on the 4th of July, I became so overwhelmed and stressed that I mentally broke, resulting in an inpatient stay at a mental health facility.

I am managing again, but had hit rock bottom mentally, especially because we did not have the means to make necessary repairs as well as sustain our household expenses.

Both Rick and I eventually started to improve mentally and him physically.

Finally, in August, we hit the milestone of Rick being able to mobilize himself enough for us to do our own transportation to and from his treatment appointments. I had made everything accessible and was finally able to bring him home. Therapy and nursing had come into our home and within an outstanding two weeks, Rick was finally able to walk on his own with the aid of a walker.

Rick is currently walking and performing all daily living activities on his own while we continue going to Cleveland weekly for photopheresis therapy, similar to dialysis. We have no idea how long Rick will need these treatments or when this rollercoaster will come to a halt. However, due to my physical limitations as well as Rick's, we have gone through all of our savings and retirement benefits and had no income. So alas, we are struggling and unable to meet all of our financial obligations and are reaching out to others for some assistance through this hardship.

Please feel free to share our story with others, as help comes from everywhere. We thank you for your thoughts, prayers and blessings.